ScannerPOS in self-checkout

Abstract

A SCO containing a single unified motherboard is generally described. The SCO includes a touchscreen display configured to provide a visible display for interaction with a user. The SCO also has a built-in scanning capabilities within the motherboard and connectors to connect to the display and other components of the SCO. The motherboard includes a multicore processor configured to control the scanning, the display and the other components. The scanning capability is configured to scan an item for a symbol, detect the presence of the symbol on the item, identify information on the symbol related to the item, and control the display to display an identity, price of the item, and print a receipt for a customer.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A self-checkout (SCO) comprising:
 a touchscreen display configured to provide a visible display for interaction with a user; and 
 a scanner comprising a motherboard and a plurality of connectors to connect to the display and a plurality of other components of the SCO, the motherboard including a multicore processor configured to control the scanner, the display and the other components, the scanner configured to scan an item for a symbol, the symbol being a bar code or quick response (QR) code, detect the presence of the symbol on the item, identify information on the symbol related to the item, and control the display to display an identity and price of the item, the display being a dummy terminal that does not have a motherboard and is controlled by the multicore processor, the multicore processor of the scanner centralizing load balancing among resources used for image capture and recognition, electronic communication, item and price identification, display, printing and Cash Drawer Kick Out (CDKO), 
 wherein the multicore processor is configured to provide, within a predetermined time, a prompt to request more time in response to another item not being detected and payment not being received. 
 
     
     
       2. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein the processor comprises a central processing unit connected with a Platform Controller Hub (PCH) via a Direct Media Interface (DMI), the PCH connected with an input/output (I/O) interface via a Low Pin Count (LPC) bus. 
     
     
       3. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein the scanner further comprises a plurality of cameras configured to take images through a plurality of windows. 
     
     
       4. The SCO of  claim 3 , wherein the processor controls the cameras to each provide images at a rate of a 30 frames per second, illumination for the images being synchronized among the cameras. 
     
     
       5. The SCO of  claim 3 , wherein the connectors comprise USB3 ports, and the processor controls the cameras through the USB3 ports and switch between supplying 5V and 24V to the cameras. 
     
     
       6. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein the cores of the processor run an operating system, driver software to drive the components, a POS application, a universal OPOS or JAVA point of sale (POS) scanning software, and code decoding software to decode a code on the symbol once the symbol is detected, a multicore graphics processor being used to run code region finder software to determine where the symbol is located on the item. 
     
     
       7. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to detect the presence of the symbol on the item, identify information on the symbol related to the item, and control the display to display an identity and price of the item to no more than 40 ms. 
     
     
       8. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein the connectors comprise ports for a scale display, a speaker output and a Cash Drawer Kick Out (CDKO) port. 
     
     
       9. The SCO of  claim 1 , wherein scanning and point of sale functionality are built into the motherboard. 
     
     
       10. A method of operating a self-checkout (SCO), the method comprising scanning functionality of the SCO:
 detecting, by a scanner, the presence of an item; 
 detecting, by the scanner, the presence of a symbol on the item, the symbol being a bar code or quick response (QR) code; 
 determining, by the scanner, an identity of the item based on the symbol; 
 obtaining, by the scanner, information of the item based on the identity, the information comprising a price of the item; 
 controlling, by the scanner at a display, display of the identity and price of the item on a touchscreen display of the SCO, the display being a dummy terminal that does not have a motherboard and is controlled by a multicore processor; 
 centralizing load balancing, by the scanner, among resources used for image capture and recognition, electronic communication, item and price identification, display, printing and Cash Drawer Kick Out (CDKO); and 
 providing, by the scanner and within a predetermined time, a prompt to request more time in response to another item not being detected and payment not being received. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 transmitting, by the scanner, the identity of the item to a server; and 
 receiving, by the scanner, the information from the server in response to transmission of the identity of the item. 
 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the transmission to the server and reception from the server is WiFi-based. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 determining, by the scanner, whether payment has been initiated on the touchscreen display after controlling display of the identity and price of the item on the touchscreen display. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 10 , wherein detecting the presence of the item and detecting the presence of the symbol on the item is based on images of the item and the symbol taken by a plurality of cameras of the SCO. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising the scanner controlling the cameras to each provide images at a rate of a 30 frames per second, illumination for the images being synchronized among the cameras. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising the scanner controlling power to the cameras through USB3 ports and switching between supplying 5V and 24V to the cameras. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising operating, on and by the scanner, multiple cores of a processor on a motherboard that performs the scanning and run an operating system, driver software to drive other components of the SCO external to the motherboard, a POS application, a universal OPOS or JAVA POS scanning software, and code decoding software to decode a code on the symbol once the symbol is detected, and operating multiple cores of a graphics processor to run code region finder software to determine where the symbol is located on the item. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 10 , further comprising limiting, by the scanner, detecting the presence of a barcode on the item, extracting the barcode from the scanning, decoding the barcode to find the price of the item within 40 ms, controlling the display to display the identity, and controlling a printer of the SCO to print a receipt.